More exporters leveraging benefits of free trade pacts: Govt
In 2025-26, India's ten largest import partner countries were China, UAE, Russia, US, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Singapore and Japan, as per govt data.
New Delhi: The number of certificates of origin issued for availing free trade agreement benefits has more than doubled in India, according to the Ministry of State for Commerce and Industry. From 3.6 lakh in the fiscal year 2021-22, the issuance reached over 7.8 lakh in the ongoing fiscal year 2026-27. This surge in COO issuance signifies the growing utilization of India's trade agreements and the enhanced market access opportunities for exporters, informed Minister of State Jitin Prasada in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
COO, or certificate of origin, is a crucial document required at the landing port of the importing country to claim duty concessions under free trade agreements. It serves as proof of the goods' origin, facilitating smoother international trade. India's merchandise exports saw a robust 16% growth, rising from USD 111.57 billion in the April-June 2025-26 quarter to USD 129.32 billion in the April-June 2026-27 quarter.
Furthermore, exports to free trade agreement (FTA) partner countries increased by 25%, climbing from USD 34.65 billion to USD 43.14 billion during the same period.
This growth in exports has led to an uptick in the share of FTA partners in India's total exports, which rose from 31.1% to 33.4% during the same timeframe, as highlighted by Prasada. India has established trade agreements with the UAE, Australia, the EFTA bloc, Oman, and the UK.
In a separate response, Prasada emphasized that the FTAs' impact is evident across multiple sectors, particularly labor-intensive and high-value industries like textiles, apparel, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, organic chemicals, and electronics. Imports in key sectors, including petroleum products, machinery, electrical equipment, chemicals, and other intermediate and capital goods, have also expanded, bolstering domestic manufacturing and bolstering competitiveness.
Despite India's rapid economic growth, industrialization, urbanization, and deeper integration with global value chains, the country still relies on certain imports like petroleum products, machinery, electrical equipment, chemicals, and other critical inputs.
Written by urgent.news from The Economic Times - Economy's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
